Automobile title abstract and identification system



Oct. 16,1923. 1,470,604

' L. D. FOX

AUTOMOBILE TITLE ABSTRACT AND IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM Fil'ed Jan. 25, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 fgy Pago No; 2 DESCRIPTION IDENTIFICATION Typc .-.w.... .....-..Year. "Model .Carburetom .No. Cylhm Color Pain? T I Engine No.-..

license J v -21 (Signature :1] Ehotographed Ownr) witnessed By:

xx" J Oct. 16, 1923. 1,470,604

L. D. Fox

AUTOMOBILE TITLE ABSTRACT AND IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM Filed Jan; 25, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 WORANUJM OF DEALER'S SALE.

Application of on file in this office states that the car described herein was purchased from of I Secretary.

L. D. FOX

AUTOMOBILE TITLE ABSTRACT AND IDENTIFICATIONSYSTEM Filed Jan. 25, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 7 CERTIFICATE Page FOR THE BENEFIT OF nf The AUTOMOBILE ABSTRACT AND TITLE GUARANTY COMPANY hereby certifies that the fore going Autab contains a coriiplete abstract of all instruments of record in the public records specifically named below of..' i.- ..County, State oL'. affecting the title to that certain Motor Vehicle, description and photograph of which is set out at pa'geof this Autab and made a part hereof.

Our search covers the Chattel Mortgage, Bill of Sale and Laborers Lien Recor County Cogrts at Law; District Courts and Justice Courts holclen in ..County and Federal Tax Liens so far as recorded and indexed in the County Clerks Office of said County, but does not cover levies or seizures under judicial process out of any Court.

Such information as may be set out in this Autab other than disclosed by the records specifically covered by lhiscertificale is furnished for the benefit of the party named above and no guaranty is made of its accuracy or This Autab comprises pages numbered from ..to "consecutively, and search covers the period beginning the day of and ending the day of I,

it.,........,... ..WM.

AUTOMOBILE ABSTRACT AND TITLE GUARAN'IY COMPANY Secretary awuowboe Oct. 16, 1923. 1,470,604

L. D. FOX

AUTOMOBILE TITLE ABSTRACT AND IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM Filed Jan. 25, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 REGISTRATION RECORD Page No D Licensa No.:...... I -..A..

In Name Seal No City nf Engine N6 I County of itam nf Colleclors Nor Name of (m- Issued for year Y? I H P First Registration Q... l 3

Year of Mad! Reliegistralion .J Class 1) E 4 (2) v )mmn M) From whom -h, M nt Address of Owner" QHPP' City Qum- Remarks AUTABNO. I DATE OWN? An Rass MAKE 51mm: N0.

ucsnsa N0. SEAL flu. SERIAL No. REMAHKs 6 PRESENT rms CARD WITH YOUR CAfi AT F'Ofl PHOTO AND SECRET MARKING. AUTAB I5 DEL-AYE UNI'IL THS HAS BEEN DO E- TO BEFILLED m BY INSPECTOR PHOTOGRAPH OF M MADE CAR MARKE As Fouows: CuAssls BooY DATE \NSPEcTDR l... D. FOX

Filed Jan. 25, 1923 Page No; INSURANCE RECORD Data as to Insurance is furnished us by Owner of the Motor Vehicles covered by this AUTAB and no warranty is made as to payment of premium or solvency of Insurance Company.

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 No. of Policy COMPANY Date luued u m- Fire and Theft Collision Property Damage l-ilbillty A3 SECRET IDENTIFICATION RECORD As additional verification of ownership the insured owner and holder of this AUTAB is protected by a secret mark placed on car. This mark and its location on car is recorded only in our office. It will be furnished without cost to persons entitled to receive same by presenting-this AUTAB or by giving the following number:

This Company, unqualifiedly, reserves to itself the sole right to determine who is entitled to receive this secret mark.

' machine, a photograph of the car and the of the car, and the index of the secret iden- 1 Be it knownthat I, LEWIS record indicatin Patented Octi 16, 1 923.

9,; ,STAT

LEWIS D. FOX, OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

AUTOMOBILE TITLE ABSTRACT AND IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM.

Application filed January 25, 1923. Serial No. 614,936.

To all. whom it may 001mm; I

D. Fox, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fort Worth, county of Tarrant, State of Texas have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile Title Abstract and Identification Systems; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains, to make and use the same.

The invention relates to a novel combination of instrumentalities in the form of blanks h-avin appropriately designated spaces to receive'the descriptive data of the owner thereof, the owners signature, data of and affecting title to the machine, an in ex of secret identification marking, a record of the secret marking and the location thereof on the car, mcmoranda of the sale of the car, data of the registration of the car, and data of the insurance carried including the character'and duration there 'ofand the name or names of the insurers;

the particular blanks to be retained by the owner of the carbeing, preferably, assem-e bled in book form, and the blank relating to the secret marking being retained in possession of the party issuing the book to the owner of the car.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which, i

Fig. 1 is a blank to receive the description of the car, a photograph of the car and its owner, and the signature of the latter;

Fig. 2 is a blank to receive the data of the bill of sale of the car;

Fig. 3 is a blank form of certificate of title to include all matters of record affecting title to the car;

Fig. 3* is a blank card to be issued to the owner of the car as an ancillary certificate of title and indicating his participation in the protective system included in the instant invention;

Fig. 4 is a blank to receive the data relatto the registration of the car; 7 Fig;v 5 is a blank to receive the complete record of the insurance placed by the owner tification marking;

Fig. 6 is a blank to receive the data of the car and the record of the secret marking.

Referrin to Fig. 1, the numeral 1 indicates a car or sheet of paper having printed thereon the descriptive indicia of an automobile including name, type, year. model, horsepower, etc., each index being followed by an. appropriate space to receive 'the proper data to constitute a complete description of the car to be obtained by a personal inspection by the party issuing the instrumentalities constituting the instant invention, the section of the blank constituting this particular phase of theinvention being designated by-the numeral 2, and under the caption Description. Below thisdescriptive section is a line 3 to receive the signa-' ture of the owner, below which is a line 4 for the signature of a witness on behalf of the issuing party. To the right of the descri tion is a-space to receive a photograph of t e owner of the car. After all of the identify- .1

mg data relative to the car has been supplied, the signatures attached,'and the pho tograph applied in position, the ofiicial seal of the issuing party is preferably impressed in the blank so as to partly overlie the photograph, so as to prevent the removal of or tampering with the photograph.

The co-ordination of the description of .,to the owner, said card constituting a certificate identifying the owner and the car and the number of the particular book constituting a record data, which book will be hereinafter referred to as the abstract. Preferably, the ancillary card 8 aforesaid also contain a blank space 9 for the signature of the owner, and a second blank space 9. for the signature of the agent or representative of the party issuing the abstract.

This identification card will enable the owner to make application through some authorized agency of the issuing party, police department, title company, insurance agency or the like, for complete information as to the title to the car and the secret marking on the latter to behereinafter referred to, which may be furnished by mail or telegraph, and the owners right to .the car thereby established. This particular blank, represented by Sheet No. 1, when-properly supplied with the requisite data and information, will serve to identify the owner of the car in other business transactions, and enable him to furnish accurate and dependable information to the proper authorities in case of theft of the car. V

Fig. 2 represents a blank 6 constituting a memorandum of sale of the automobile, and when the necessary data has been supplied, this memorandum, together with the certificate of title illustrated by blank 7 in Fig. 3, constitutes an evidence of ownership certified to by the issuer of theabstract. The said certificate blank 7 is designed also to receive the data of any matters of record, such as chattel mortgage, bills of sale, laborers liens, etc. This certificate, when completed, constitutes a guarantee of a complete and correct showing of such matters as are of record affecting the title to the particular motor vehicle identified on blank No. 1.

The blank shown in Fig. 4 designated by numeral 10, constitutes, when the necessary data is supplied, a complete registration record identifying the owner by name and residence, and the car by name, and various other identifying data, indicating the license number and the class to which the vehicle belongs. While this blank is not absolutely essential as an element of the system aforesaid, it nevertheless furnishes an effective check on the car and its owner, should the car be stolen, or should the owner be called upon to establish histitIe'onright to the car through ofiicial agencies, such as the registration bureau of a city or State, the registration-record blank gives all necessaryin formation to check the. data as to both the car and the owner in said registration bureau. I

The blank 11 illustrated in Fig. 5 includes two sections, the first section 12 being a transcript of the insurance record in respect of the car and containing spaces for receiving. all of the data. as to the insurance placedby the owner on the motor vehicle, including policy numbers, insuring companies, dates of issue and expiration. and particular character of insurance. The second section 13 of the blank refers to a secret identification record, and includesa blank space 14, to re- 1 ceive the index of a secret identification marking placed on the car,which secret identification marking is recorded in the office of the party issuing the abstract, upon a record card or blank of the type illustrated in Fig. 6, the said blank 15 containing spaces to receive the data and spaces to be filled in by the inspector or other party who applies the secret marking, indicating the specific character of the marking and the location thereof. This secret marking may be of any arbitrary character; either'in the form of a number or numbers, or symbols, which may be stamped or impressed by suitable dies at any cation of the secret marking until such time as it becomes absolutely necessary to make the same known, as for example, in the case of theft of the car, and the mutilation thereof, as for example, by changing the factory numbers on the carand the engine, orfremodelling or repaintingthe car. This secret markingand the record thereof is of vital importance in case of theft/of several cars of the same make in the same locality, as'itwill enable theowner of the car, or the proper authorities, to procure an immediate and authentic identification of the car by obtaining the necessary information from the party issuing the abstract as to the character and location of the secret markings.

F rom the foregoing description, it will be apparent that the system aforesaid, when put into effect by a competent and responsible party, will not only afford the owner of the car to whom the abstract is issued instant and indisputable evidence of 4 his ownership, but will also provide readily available and authentic information for the police authorities to trace a car when the same has been stolen, and to identify the same even among a large number of cars of the same make. Likewise, the system will act as a deterrent to the theft of cars, as the latter could not be safely operated by the thief without detection, and would render the sale of stolen cars too difiicult and hazardous to be undertaken with impunity.

What I claim is: I 1. The combination of blanks having appropriately designated spaces .to receive the description and identifying data ofan automobile, the photograph of the car and the owner thereof; matters of record affecting title to the car; an index of secret identification marking placed on the car; and a record of the secret marking including the character and location thereof.

2. The combination of blanks having appropriately designated spaces to receive the description and identifying data of an automobile, the photograph of the car'and the ownerthereof; memoranda of the sale of the car; matters of record affecting title to the car; an index of secret identification marking placed on the car; and a record of the secret marking inbluding the character and location thereof. i r

3. The combination of blanks having appropriately designated spaces toreceive the description and identifying data of an automobile, the photograph of the car and the owner thereof; memoranda of the sale of the car;' the record of registration of the car; matters of record affecting title to the car; an index of secret identification marking placed on the car; and a record of the secret marking including the character and location thereof.

4. The combination of blanks having appropriately designated s ces to receive the description and identifylng data of an automobile, the photograph of the car and the owner thereof; memoranda of the sale of the car; the record of registration of the car; the record data of the insurance including the character and duration thereof and the name or names of the insurers; matters of record afiecting title to the car; an index of secret identification marking placed on the car; and a record of the secret marking including the character and location thereof.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

LEWIS D. FOX. 

